Special Containment Procedures: SCP-XXXX and SCP-XXXX-1 are currently housed in a humanoid containment cell located in Bio-Site 66. Personnel are not to enter SCP-XXXX-1's cell without a proper hazmat suit, even if they are considered a low risk of infection. Dormant and deceased instances of SCP-XXXX are to be transported in a secure, airtight container.

SCP-XXXX-1 is to be physically examined for new eggs twice weekly. Onsite dietitians are to be notified of any findings.

Iron supplements are to be given once daily with food, and twice daily during the larval stage. Due to SCP-XXXX's lack of visual symptoms and increased appetite during its larval stage, it is critical to be aware of what stage of life all instances are in to provide proper nutrition for SCP-XXXX and SCP-XXXX-1.

Description: SCP-XXXX is a colony of direct endoparasitic insectoids that live within the human body, superficially resembling purple quartz. A colony of SCP-XXXX currently resides in the body of a 27 year old female (designated SCP-XXXX-1) in foundation custody.

Mature instances of XXXX are immobile and extend anywhere from █cm to ██cm from the skin of its host. A well-established colony, and a host with stable iron levels, can support anywhere from 10-20 instances with clutches ranging from 2-5 eggs. When removed from its host, SCP-XXXX can remain dormant for approximately two weeks before succumbing to starvation. The removal of SCP-XXXX appears to cause its host great pain, and leaves a large opening in its skin where the parasite was removed. Removing multiple instances causes a significant drop in the host's vital signs, and the extraction of too many causes the death of the host and its colony.

See Addendum XXXX-B52 for more information about the life cycle and dietary requirements of SCP-XXXX.

SCP-XXXX was first discovered by field agents positioned in ███████ Hospital in ████, ██ where doctors reported a woman visiting frequently, complaining of nausea and fatigue. Blood tests revealed an iron deficiency and she was prescribed iron supplements. She returned 12 days later, in a hysteric state, with several instances of SCP-XXXX protruding from her skin. Hospital staff were administered Class-A amnestics and the primary host was taken into foundation custody.

Egg Stage: How long from egg to larva
Colonies of SCP-XXXX infect hosts through skin-to-skin contact with another potential host. Within 1-2 days, if conditions are suitable1 for a new colony of SCP-XXXX, the new host will experience "bruising"2 where contact was made with the infected individual. Over the course of a week, these "bruises" begin to swell and finally dissipate as the larvae hatch.

Larval Stage: How long from larva to maturity
These larvae travel under the epidermal layer, absorbing iron through their skin, until they have consumed enough to advance to the pupa stage (about 10 days). During the larval stage, the host may experience symptoms of anemia such as dizziness, pallor, or fatigue.

Maturity: How long from maturity to reproduction, reproduction to death
The initial pupa stage is visually similar to the egg stage. The host's skin above the pupa will begin to discolor and steadily rise as the pupa matures. During the maturing process, the skin will begin to break and SCP-XXXX's thorax emerges (see image). The crystalline structure will continue to grow in length until its death.

As of writing, the colony within SCP-XXXX-1 has gone through roughly 15 generations of larvae.

Addendum XXXX-B52: Dissection Report

Addendum XXXX-A01: Interview

Interviewed: SCP-XXXX-1

Interviewer: Dr. C█████

Foreword: This interview was conducted shortly after containment for the purposes of discussing the nature of SCP-XXXX. At this point, subject was displaying symptoms of anemia and appeared to be having some difficulty focusing.

<Begin Log>

Dr. C█████: Good afternoon, A█████.

SCP-XXXX-1: Hey. [yawns] Sorry. What can I do for you?

Dr. C█████: That's quite all right. Before I get started, I'm letting you know that we'll be referring to you as SCP-XXXX-1 from here on. It's something of a case number.

So please, tell us: when did you start exhibiting these… symptoms?

SCP-XXXX-1: All right. [long pause] I think it was about a week ago. I had just gotten back from a spelunking trip in ████████. In the ████████ ██████, y'know? It has a guided tour and everything.

Dr. C█████: Did anything unusual happen on this trip?

SCP-XXXX-1: Yeah, super weird. So anyway, I took my camera with me, to take some pictures for my friends back home. It was a really tight fit in those caves. I'm not usually claustrophobic but man, it was kind of intense. You just feel like the world is going to shift around you and you'll never be able to claw your way back up, y'know?

Dr. C█████: Please focus, XXXX-1.

SCP-XXXX-1: Ah, I'm sorry. Kind of forgot where I was there for a sec. Once we got where we were going, to the "main attraction" I sort of… wandered off. The guide said we had some time to look around, not to go to far, blah blah blah. He wouldn't stop talking.

So I start walking along this ledge, and I see a hole, maybe 5ft3 tall? Bigger than most of the holes we'd been through until then. And I was like, "oh thank goodness, a hole I don't have to crawl through".

Dr. C█████: Right.

SCP-XXXX-1: [takes a deep breath] Anyway so I go into this hole. Hopefully it goes somewhere cool, I get some neat shots. It's not that wide so I have to shimmy a little bit. But that's when I start seeing this… glow. As far as I know, this cave's not supposed to be glowing, right? That's something they'd definitely be putting on the pamphlet.

I don't even know how long I kept going. It felt like a long time, but it was probably just a couple of minutes. And this glowing is still getting brighter.

Suddenly I reach this tee, and the light is so bright now and it's kind of coming from right in front of me.

SCP-XXXX-1: [REDACTED] and it was staring right at me. I didn't even know what part of it to look at! And it's just making this horrible clicking-grinding noise! So I did what any reasonable person would do and got the ████ outta there!

Dr. C█████: Did you tell anyone else what you saw?

SCP-XXXX-1: And get in trouble with the tour company for not following their expidition rules? Over something they wouldn't believe? No, I kept it to myself. Until these… things… started crawling under my skin. Then I went to the hospital, and that's where you guys picked me up.

Dr. C█████: Did you come into contact with [REDACTED] at any point in time?

SCP-XXXX-1: I don't… No, I don't think so.

<End Log>

Closing Statement: The subject then went pale and lost consciousness. It is unknown whether this response was to the question proposed by Dr. C█████, or due to subject's then dangerously low iron levels.

The exact nature of the organism or organisms SCP-XXXX evolved to use as a host is currently unknown. Humans consume far less iron than a colony requires to maintain a steady population, and I wouldn't describe their mature stage as subtle, either. Investigation into these ideal hosts is ongoing.
- Dr. █████